INSTITUTE, W.Va. – Roosevelt was stunned in Friday's nightcap as the Lakers dropped both matches Friday in West Virginia.
The Lakers (2-4) were swept by Concord in three competitive sets to begin the day then returned to action later against West Virginia State. Roosevelt took the first two sets comfortably, but were defeated in five sets after the hosts rallied.
Imani Lee was the start in the first game of the day with 16 kills and a .286 hitting percentage to lead the Lakers against the Mountain Lions. The graduate student had seven of her kills in the second set then added five more in the third. Alessia Isgro had five of her nine kills in the third set as well, but the Lakers fell 26-24 in a back-and-forth game.
In the second match Friday, Merryck Brackett recorded a career-best 43 assists against West Virginia State, and the sophomore finished with 70 total helpers across the two matches. Isgro had 13 kills to lead Roosevelt against the Yellow Jackets and Abigail Wutka added 12 kills on a .407 hitting percentage as well.
Madison Howard led the Lakers defense in the first set against West Virginia State with six of her 16 digs coming in the set. Roosevelt rattled off nine straight points in the opener to run out to a 9-1 lead behind three aces from Lee and a pair of kills from Isgro. However, the Yellow Jackets only could cut the deficit down to two before the Lakers closed out a 25-22 win.
Roosevelt ran off another 9-0 run in the second set, this time expanding a 12-11 advantage into a 21-11 lead. The Lakers committed just three errors in the set and hit .310 with six different players recording two kills. Howard added seven digs and Wutka had three of her career-best seven total blocks in the set, which Roosevelt won 25-18.
The Lakers were one point away from match point in both the third and fourth sets, but both times West Virginia State rattled off the final three points of the set to claim 25-23 wins. Wutka had six kills on eight swings in the fourth set to lead Roosevelt's attack. The Yellow Jackets then raced out to an early lead and didn't look back in a 15-8 victory in the deciding set.
Lee also finished with five aces in the loss to West Virginia State.
UP NEXT: The Lakers close out their stay in West Virginia on Saturday when they travel to face Charleston for the second straight weekend. The Golden Eagles swept the match last weekend against Roosevelt in Ohio.Â
